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8/3/2019 Sagittarius 3: Two men playing chess
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sagittarius-3-two-men-playing-chess 1/2
S t a r l i n g H u n t e r © 2 0 1 1 1
Sagittarius 3: Two men playing chess
The word two descends
f r o m t h e I nd o -E u r o p e a n ( I E )
root dwo- which means “ two”
and from which are also
derived the words duo, duet ,
entwine, twist , twelve, twenty ,
twine, balance, twain ,
between, binary , combine,
dipole, diploma, duplex,
duplicate, doubt , a nd dubious . 1
The word man i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h r e e d i f f e r e nt I nd o -E u r o p e a n r o o t s .
The word i tsel f descends from the IE root man-1 which means “man” and
from which also descend manikin , mannequin, mensch, a nd Manu. 2 The
IE root ner-2 means “man” and i ts “basic sense” is “vigorous, vi ta l ,
strong.” 3 Derivat ives of this root include phi lander , androus, the pref ix
andro- , a nd t h e s u f f i x -andry. Th e G r e e k an er which means “man” is a lso
r e l a t e d t o t h i s r o o t . F i na l l y , t h e I E r o o t wi-ro also means “man.”4
A m o ngits derivat ives are the words viri le , v irtue, world, a n d virtuoso, a nd
werewolf .
The word playing descends from the IE root dlegh- which means “ to
engage oneself . ” 5 Pa r o ny m s i nc l u d e indulge, p ledge, p l ight , a nd replevin
( a n a c t i o n t o r e c o v e r p e r s o na l p r o p e r t y s a i d o r c l a i m e d t o be u nl a w f u l l y
t a ke n) . 6
1 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, pp. 21-2
2 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 513 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 58
4 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 101
5 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 21
6 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/replevin
8/3/2019 Sagittarius 3: Two men playing chess
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Th e g a m e o f chess i s related to the word ch eck which in turn descends
from the IE root tke- , “ to gain control of , gain power over .” 7 I ts paronyms
i nc l u d e satrap, Xerxes, shah, check, exchequer , a nd pasha .
THEMES: Th e r e i s a c l e a r a nt i t h e s i s h e r e o f d e f e a t o r LOSS and
s u bs e qu e nt RECOVERY . The game of ch ess i s “a board game for two
players , each beginning with 16 pieces of s ix kinds that are moved
according to individual rules , with the object ive of checkmating the
opposing king.”8 The word ch eck m at e m e a ns “to attack (a chess
o p p o ne nt ' s k i ng ) i n s u c h a m a nne r t h a t no e s c a p e o r d e f e ns e i s p o s s i bl e ,
thus ending the game” and more general ly , to utterly defeat . 9 Among the
p a r o ny m s o f playing i s replevin , “ a n a c t i o n t o r e c o v e r p e r s o na l p r o p e r t y
said or c laimed t o be unlawfully taken.” 10
I nt e r e s t i ng ly , t w o o f t h e p a r o ny m s o f chess a re shah ( in the past , the
ki ng i n I r a n) a nd Xerxes ( t h e K i ng o f Pe r s i a i n t h e 5 t h century BC) . O n e o f
t he p ar o n yms o f men i s t he w o r d M a n u w hi ch i n Hi n d ui sm i s “ t he p r i mo r d i a l
f at her o f t he human r ace an d so ver ei g n o f t he ear t h w ho f i r st i n st i t ut ed
r el i g i o us cer emo n i es an d d evi sed a co d e o f law s .” 11 T hus , an o t her t heme
co n cer n s r uler s — b o t h ear t hly KINGS an d d i vi n e SOVEREIGNS .
I t i s e a s y t o s e e t h e br o a d o u t l i ne s o f a s t o r y h e r e : a k i ng w h o i sd e p o s e d o r d e f e a t e d u nd e r t a ke s a c t i on t o r e c o v e r no t o nl y h i s l o s t
property but also the symbols of his ruler , e .g . h is property , h is throne,
h i s c a s t l e , e t c .
7 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 92
8 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/chess
9 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/checkmate
10 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/replevin11 h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n .y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e nc e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y/ m a n u